DANFA comprehensive rural health and family planning project, Ghana : summary, conclusions, and recommendations from the final report

The project emphasized four main objectives: (1) strengthening the institutional capability at the Ghana Medical School to conduct research and train doctors in HFP services; (2) transfer of information derived from project activities; (3) demonstration of several different health care models to include family planning as an integrated component suitable to the Ghanaian culture; (4) epidemiological investigation of the state of a rural Ghanaian community, concentrating on factors associated with health and family planning behavior. The formal research and development phase supported by the AID contract resulted in innovative approaches to expand the work of health centers in a cost-effective manner and to involve Ghanaians in solving their own health problems. Rural Ghanaians approve of family planning and will use effective contraceptive methods if provided with necessary information and services. The research experience and the participant training program have greatly enhanced the capability of the Department of Community Health of the Ghana Medical School to teach, plan, and evaluate health programs, and to conduct field research. A number of conclusions, recommendations, and appendices in the Final Report and in the accompanying document, "Summary Conclusions and Recommendations," cover the following topics: (1) status of physical health and the sociodemographic and environmental factors related to it, including maternal and child mortality, nutritional status, immunization, morbidity, and death rate; (2) maternal and child health care delivery including health center and satellite services and health education and evaluation; (3) fertility and the factors influencing its rate among Ghanaian women; (4) family planning activities such as education and contraceptive services; (5) institutional development and information transfer; (6) sources of demographic data and the results of coverage estimates for births and deaths, age and sex distribution, and population growth; (7) longitudinal knowledge, attitudes, and practices surveys; (8) the village health survey; (9) the health practices survey; (10) data processing of survey results and all project statistics; (11) a list and summary of DANFA project publications and reports; (12) a list of participants trained overseas; and (13) a list of AID-DANFA personnel.